Anniversary

Today is our 2 year anniversary! I can't believe that we have already been married that long. So much has happened in that amount of time, but it flew by. We have been a couple for almost seven years now! Wow. Anyway nothing profound or mushy, I was just thinking about the last couple of years and I'm not surprised, but just really excited by how fun and amazing it has been so far; and we still have so much to look forward to!

Our Canoe

Well, Jesse has been talking about buying a canoe all summer. He thought it would be fun to get a canoe and go camping at different lakes for our vacation this summer. We looked on Craigslist, but we couldn't find one that we liked. We found a store in Fort Collins that sold canoes, and when we got there we found out that they were having a huge closing sale. So, we found a great canoe for 30% off!!! I love sales!

Anyway, we took the dogs out on it that evening to see how they would do, and they loved it. Jack would lean his head over the edge and lap up the lake water. Abel just chilled. The only problem we had was that Abel was so big that whenever he moved, Jesse would have to shift around so that the canoe wouldn't tip over. (We didn't get any pictures though; we didn't want to take the digital camera out in case we tipped. We're going to get a waterproof camera and try to get some pictures of the dogs on our vacation. )

On our way home there was another car with a canoe on top driving behind us. You know how bikers have that cool biker wave that they do whenever they pass each other? Well canoe people have a wave too. This was passing us and we looked over because he had slowed down to our speed, and he was doing this totally cheesy wave with the biggest smile on his face. We felt privileged to be included in the canoe club, but the wave is so lame. ( : Here is a picture of us doing the canoe wave, Jesse is way better at it than I am.

Been A Long Time

I know it has been a long time since the last time I posted so here's an update. I have started and am halfway through two of the five summer classes that I signed up for. Not doing so great considering that I only have 1 month left, but we'll see how it goes. In fact I should be doing homework right now instead of posting, but oh well. I still haven't heard where I will be student teaching next semester, and I'm getting a little worried, but this is how it was last semester so I'll just see what happens.

I have been working at the country club for four weeks now, and while I would rather not be working right now I have to say that this job is pretty great. Today we had 3 kids, sipped iced tea all day, decorated paddle balls, and spent two hours tanning and chatting (while watching the kids of course.) We usually have more kids, but even then it's not too bad.

We got a new dog a week ago too. At first when we got him home we were thinking we might have made a mistake (we even considered taking him back,) but now he is really growing on us. He is a lot smaller than Abe (even though he is supposedly the same breed) and he is such a friendly dog. He came with the name Moe, but we had a hard time agreeing on an official name for him. Jesse liked Moe or Moses, but I thought he looked too pretty for a name like Moses. I like the name Jack. We had a bunch of friends out for a b.b.q. the other night and asked them to weigh in on the name thing. After trying out Larry, Fred, Jack, Moe, Moses, Axel, and others for a while we finally settled on Jack. Here are some pictures of him and Abel.

7 Random Things

I was tagged by Sherry, and so here are 7 random things about me:

1: I can't stand hearing or even seeing someone scratching their jeans (or pretty much any other fabric.) It is like nails on a chalkboard to me. I hate the way it feels to scratch fabric, and when I hear it or see it being done I just cringe.

2: Every night before bed I have to straighten the sheets. If they feel wrinkled or twisted I can't sleep, and I just have to get back out of bed to straighten and smooth them.

3: I only like to use crayons if they are new. I hate coloring with a dull crayon.

4: I am a scab picker. Dead skin grosses me out so I have to get it off as soon as I can.

5: My husband Jesse calls me "gor" which he says is short for gorgeous. I keep trying to think of something else for him to call me because I think "gor" just sounds so weird.

6: I kind of collect tea pots. I didn't mean for it to happen, but every time I see one that is really cute I have to buy it.

7: I wash my hands all the time. I don't know why, but when I'm cooking a meal I might end up washing them ten times. Any time they get sticky, have something on them, or if they don't have that clean soapy smell I wash them. I guess that I am a little o.c. when it comes to hand washing, but at least they're clean.

Wow, that was hard. I had to get help from Jesse on that last one because I was having trouble thinking of something to write. Anyway, I think those were all pretty random. Hope you enjoyed reading them.

P.S. For the Goldsmiths: I love the Love Sauce.

Update

Well, nothing much is happening around here. I got an e-mail the other night saying that we now have to student teach through the week of the 6-11th of May. I didn't have any huge plans for that week, but my brother-in-law's wedding is that Saturday (we are having some of the wedding party staying with us later that week), and I am going to be packing for a 2 week vacation that I am leaving for on Sunday. I thought it would be nice to have that week off for packing and cleaning, but oh well.

Also I went to one of my sister's fashion shows the other night with my mom. She was a model for a Denver version of Project Runway (the one where the designers have chalenges where they have to make an outfit using crazy stuff.) I got to go to the finale and it was so much fun. Her designer won the challenge for that night, and then won the whole thing. He got two tickets to fashion week in N.Y. and he decided to take Michelle with him. Check out her myspace to see photos of some of the stuff that he designed. Most of it is a little too high fashion for me if you know what I mean, but it was pretty cool still.

I finally found the camera charger though so here are some pictures of the chicken coup and our new ducklings. Yeah, we got ducklings. Jesse saw them at the feed store last time we went, and he thought they were sooo cute, so we bought a couple. They really are cute!

Three Weeks Left!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok, it has been a while but I hope someone is still checking to see if I have posted anything so that this will be worth my time. I am so excited to be finished with this semester of student teaching! I know I have said how fun it is, and how I am learning so much, but it is really tiring and kinda stressful. All I can say is that while I am sure my first year of teaching will be a lot of work, it will be nice to have my own classroom. It is a lot of work trying not to step on someone's toes. Anyway, three more weeks and then I get a vacation to Idaho and a summer full of chilling by the pool at the country club (while watching the members' kiddos.)

Also on Sunday Jesse helped me finish the chicken coup and put up a fence around it (day of rest my butt.) So the chickens were outside for the first time today. Not to brag, but I have to say that my chicken coup is pretty awesome. I had a lot of help from my dad building it, but I will take all the credit for the wonderful color coordination and the cute design. I probably shouldn't take credit for the color coordination because it is the same color as my parents house, but it was the only free paint that I liked. I wish I could take pictures, but our camera is out of batteries. Anyway, it was the chickens' first day out and about. I don't think they even came out of the coup until I visited them after work and coaxed them out, but after I got them to venture out they started to explore a little more. I thought it was great until midway through our dinner and Scrubs Jesse, looking out the window, said "What is going on out there?" Our neighbors on the west side have two pit bulls and one of them had gotten loose and decided to come over to our house. I was freaking out because our chickens had finally decided to come out of the coup and now there was a pit bull running loose right by them. Well, the neighbors finally came over and got him, but I think we are going to have to talk to our landlord (they rent from Walker too) about that dog. This is the second time that the dog has been loose on our property. Now that we have chickens, I'm not to thrilled about the visits.

My last little blurb is about a video game. Jesse got Guitar Hero last week. He was really disappointed that he couldn't buy a second guitar so that I could play with him, but I assured him that that would never be something that he would have to worry about. Well, I was wrong. I rock!! Actually in comparison to some people (Kyle Walker) I'm not good at all, but I feel pretty good about my pretend guitar playing when he is not around. I am so addicted to that game. I don't know if it's any indication that I would be a good real guitar player, but I was thinking about having my dad teach me to play a real guitar. At least I would have the timing down.

Well, that's all for now and probably for a while until something interesting happens.

Yeah For Sub Day!

As you know I officially started student teaching last week. I have been doing a lot of observing, writing in weekly folders, grading, other random jobs. Last week I got to take over getting the board ready for the next day (basically writing the next days menu) and my teacher was thrilled that I did such a good job... easy to please? I think so. Anyway I have been trying to remember the daily schedule and get a real handle on things so that I will be ready when I get to start taking over. I wasn't feeling to great about it at the end of last week because I went home and I had already forgotten what we did at the beginning of the week. Well, my teacher unexpectedly took a day off today and we had a sub in our classroom. We both had a copy of the plans for the day, but I didn't think I would get to do much teaching. WRONG! The sub was a guy who just graduated from UNC in December and student teaching was fresh on his mind. He came in and told me that since I knew the routine better than he did he was going to let me do as much teaching as I wanted, plus he thought the kids might behave better with me since they knew me. I got to teach ALL DAY LONG!! It was so much fun. The kids were great for me, I felt like I knew what I was doing, I wasn't nervous at all, and I got to kind of do me own thing as far as teaching style goes. Not that I want my teacher to get sick, but I'll look forward to more sub days in the future.

Lazy Day

Saturday was the laziest day ever for Jesse and I. A couple of weeks ago we got my grandparent's old couch and it has a hide-a-bed. Well, Friday night we pulled the old bed out, watched a movie, played some video games, and crashed in the living room. Jesse woke up Saturday morning at like 6 a.m. or something ridiculous and played some more video games. Then when I woke up I played some video games while he napped. We had breakfast in the sofa bed, watched another movie, had lunch in the sofa bed, played some more video games, and didn't even get ready for the day until about 4:30 when we had to leave for the teen's Valentine's banquet. It was so nice to just chill out all day in our pjs. The Valentine's banquet, which was a fund raiser for the teens was pretty fun. Jesse and I played the not-so-newlyweds game and WON! We got a box of homemade chocolate covered cherries which are all gone except for the last one. It really is Jesse's, but I wanted it so I made him fell bad about wanting to eat it and now neither one of us will eat it. Anyway, after the banquet we went home, put on our pjs and got back into the sofa bed. I have to say that my back was a little sore on Sunday, but I would do it again next weekend if our house wasn't such a disaster.

Day One

So, Friday was my first day at the elementary school. We have to go in for a couple of hours every Friday for three weeks before we start going full time. I hadn't heard from my partner teacher and I was kinda worried about it because I didn't know if she had gotten my messages. Anyway, She met me at the door to her room and she was so nice. She introduced me right away to the student that I am going to be working on reading with. We read for a little while, I got to help give a spelling test, and got to observe the kids some. Then she had me introduce myself to the class. It was so fun. I'm in a first grade classroom so instead of giving them a speech I just told them a little about myself and then asked what they wanted to know. I got all "what's you favorite...?" questions. I had to think of favorite things I had never thought of before like my favorite letter, and my favorite fossil. I didn't get to talk to my partner teacher very much because it was in the middle of the morning, but what we did talk about was so encouraging. She knows exactly what the student teacher program is like so she knows what I need to do this semester. She also made a point of telling me that she wanted to make sure that I got a lot of teaching and interaction time in rather than grading papers and doing bulletin boards. I am soooo excited!! Can't wait to start teaching.

Ever Need a Good Bowl of Ice Cream?

Well yesterday was just one of those days. First I was almost late to class because I got stopped by a train, and after it had passed it changed its mind and started backing up. Then in that class we were assigned dates for our first lesson presentation (at UNC still) and I was excited because he assigned date alphabetically from the role sheet. Ever since I got married I've been last on every role sheet which I'm usually not thrilled about, but this time I was. Then he said that he was going to do it reverse order because everyone else starts at the beginning. Great!! Now I have to go first. Then I found out that one of my independent study classes was sent in a little to late. Mostly my fault and I feel like an idiot, but now I'm going to have to pay for the class again to get the grade. I had a lot of homework, and then Jesse kicked my butt at a video game. (I should expect nothing less, but this time I was a little put off.) Anyway after all this all I wanted was a good bowl of ice cream. So I sat down to finish my homework, got a carton of ice cream, and ended up eating the whole thing. I let Abel lick out the carton and I wanted to show the pictures because the faces that he makes show the progression of how I felt before, during, and after the ice cream.

Birthdays

My birthday was yesterday. I had a pretty good day, but I've realized that after your 21st or 18th or whatever the last big one was, they just become kind of mundane. My last big one was 16 when I could finally drive. Since I don't smoke or drink 18 and 21 didn't really seem any more significant to me than all of the ones before. The only thing that really hit me on the 21st was that I am an adult now. I think I realized that when you turn 21 people kind of expect a little more of you than they did before. But still, nothing grand or memorable. This year, my 23, my parents took us out to dinner and got me a gift, but we went out with them last Saturday. Then, since Jesse had a basketball game last night we went out to a nice dinner Monday night. He got me a beautiful necklace, but it was two weeks ago, I was there and picked it out, and I used some of my allowance for it since we're on a tight budget this semester. Then (and don't get me wrong I love Jesse and I know he didn't see anything wrong with this) I called him at lunch yesterday to say hi and he asked me if I would stop at the store and pick up my cake since I was out already. I did a puzzle when I got home from lunch with my mom, watched Ellen, and went for coffee with a friend before Jesse's game. That's it! Nothing big, or especially memorable, just another day and I'm one number older now. The only thing I'll remember next year from this was when Jesse sang Happy Birthday to me with Abel next to him cocking his head. Anyway, I don't know why I just realized that Birthdays aren't what they once were, but for some reason it really got to me this time. I was thinking about it, and I decided that the next time my birthday will really be something special again is when my kids are old enough to say Happy Birthday to me, or make me a special gift. I guess that's something to look forward too huh.

It's Going to be So Much Fun

So, I had my first class today. This is the class that I have with the professor that will be observing us while we teach, and with us throughout the semester. After class I was so relieved. Again, I don't think I was worried because of the work load or how I would do, I was just worried because I didn't know what to expect. We have this class for four hours on Tuesdays and Thursdays and after that four hours I was so excited for the rest of the semester. I had all of my questions answered, and I noticed that there were other people there who were more nervous and far less prepared than me. I know it's sick, but that always makes me feel better.

Anyway I found out that I am going to be student teaching in a first grade classroom at Mary Blair in Loveland. Go figure, that is just two blocks away from where Jesse and I lived last year ( I could have WALKED and now I will be driving 20 miles to get there.) Oh well. It is so great to finally know where I am going to be. I think that first grade should be fun. It's a little younger than I was hoping for, but I'll deal. I was kind of hoping for a break from younger kids after the preschool. Maybe I'll go for sixth grade next semester. This next five weeks should be good. I have enough extra time in my schedule that I will be able to get all of my work done, and I should have time to sign up for another independent study course and still have time to watch general hospital on Tuesdays and Thursdays (shhhh, don't tell Jesse.)

School Starts Next Week

I am having some mixed feelings about going back to school next week. On the one hand I am so so so excited to finally be so close to done! I think that now that I have finally reached student teaching the rest is going to fly by. I'm excited because this semester I am finally going to be doing what I have been in training for for so long.

On the other hand I am a little bit anxious because I'm not really sure what I'm getting into. I have no idea where I am going to be teaching, or what grade. All I know is that yesterday I printed out a seventy two page handbook for student teaching. I'm sure it will be fine, but I'm just going to have a knot in my stomach until I find out exactly what I will be doing.

I'll let you know how it goes. Anyway, yea for only having one year left until I graduate!!

Louisville

This past summer Jesse and I had the chance to go to Louisville on a business trip for Walker Mowers. We left a few days early with our group so that we would have some time to check out Louisville and see all the sites. I honestly was not that excited when we were told that we would get to go to the Slugger factory and Churchill Downs. It sounded kind of boring to me, but it ended up being a lot of fun. When we went to Churchill Downs we got to see some of the race horses practicing, and you would not believe how fast they can run. I think that Churchill Downs was the place that I enjoyed the most just because of all of the history there. Jesse liked the Corvette factory and the Louisville Slugger factory more though. They had a wall at the slugger factory that had the signatures off all of the players that they had ever made bats for. We had a lot of fun touring the city, but for the last half of the week we worked at the race course for the Walker Mowers at the trade show. I have to say that it was more work than I had thought it would be, and at the end of the week we were tired and ready to come home. But we had a great time there and we got to know some of the people that Jesse works with and their wives.

I just thought that these pictures were kinda fun.

This was a racing simulation at Churchill Downs. I think Jesse won.

I love these old churches with the clock towers. This was one of the most beautiful that I saw.

Jesse driving through the race course that we helped set up and run.

Lousville Slugger Factory

Our New Year Celebration

This year we kinda took it easy. We went to a friend's house to play games and watch a movie. It was fun, but we ended up leaving a little after eleven so that we could get home before people started to leave the parties. Once we got home we lit a fire and roasted some marshmallows. I have to say that while it was fun, I think that Abel ended up eating more marshmallows than we did. I think I would like to do that again sometime soon, but I think next time we might use a little longer sticks. Afterwards we made it just in time to see the ball drop and have a midnight kiss. All in all I think it was a nice way to welcome the new year.

Threes

Well, they say bad things happen in threes, and Wednesday I found out that rude people happen in threes two. The first rude person that day was John from the Jax shoe department. I called to find out if my slippers had come in yet. Our conversation went something like this. Me: "I have a rain check for some slippers and I was wondering if they were in yet." John: "Sigh...Whats your name?" Me: "Kara." John: "Nope." Me: "Do you know when they might be in?" John: "No." Me: "Okay, well thank you." John: click. I just wanted my Christmas present and the guy who filled out my rain check said they would be in Tuesday.

The second rude person was our waiter at Red Robin. We only saw him twice; when he took our order ten minutes after we sat down, and when he brought the check. That was not even the worst of it, he put my to go box in his ARMPIT! Gross! I was putting the chicken in the box when Jesse told me about how the waiter carried it. I asked him if he wanted armpit chicken because I was not going to eat it after I knew that.

Then when we went to our car we saw that some moron parked in the spot next to ours which was covered by a snow mound. He parked on top of the mound so that his truck was leaning in towards ours, and only about a foot and a half away. Needless to say, there was a ding in our car door. They guys door was unlocked though so I left him a note on the seat saying, "Thank you for dinging up our car door jerk!"

Anyway, that was just a little venting. I am not really that upset, but I had nothing else to write about. Stupid rude people. I really wanted to eat that chicken too. I saved just the right amount for lunch the next day.

Afterthoughts

~We (mostly meaning all of the guys, I helped a little and watched a lot) spent the day yesterday plowing and shoveling at the shop.

Well I thought it would be nice to have a few snow days; I don't know what I think now. I LOVE the snow. I'm so excited that I am 100% sure we are going to have a white Christmas, but I just wish the snow hadn't fallen on any of the roads except the one that leads to my job. There are a lot of things I could be doing at home like cleaning, writing papers to finish up my classes, baking, shoveling snow. But there is only one thing that I actually want to do... SHOPPING.

I think my plan is to clean, shower, brave the roads and try to shop, and then do homework. I don't know. I've never been bored enough to write out my plan for the day ( : I need to wrap presents too, but I don't want to get carried away on the chores here. Jesse said that since he has to work a 10 hr day (he really doesn't have an excuse to miss work since he only has to walk across the yard) I should get stuff done so we can relax all day tomorrow. I'm tired of relaxing though, so maybe I'll leave some chores for tomorrow and shop today instead. Anyway, I'll go do something more productive now. Like get ready to go shopping.

Blizzard of 2006

So, Tuesday night the weather report was that we were expecting a huge snowstorm that night and into Wednesday. We woke up Wednesday morning and... no snow. But all of the Denver and Weld county schools were closed. I thought that was a little preemptive, but by noon Wednesday the mall was closed, businesses were closing and the rest of the schools were closing along with some major roads. Our mail carrier said that this was the second time only in 22 years that the main post office in Denver and all postal serviced had been closed.

Jesse and I are loving it because he got off work early yesterday, (I didn't go to work) and we don't have work today or possibly tomorrow. I don't know what we are going to do stuck at the house this whole time. The was talk of snow forts in the 9 foot drifts on the Walker's shop, but we might have to wait for the wind to die down. I was remembering last night, as I dug through the snow to get to our door, that when I was a kid I used to dream of this kind of snow storm. Ever since I read about this happening to the Wilders in The Little House on the Prairie I just wished that it would happen at my house. Its kind of fun. Maybe I'll make a snowman, I haven't done that in a long time.

We had to get all bundled up to go next door to the Walker's house.

The Walker's Shop

This is our back door. The first one was Wednesday. The second was this morning.

Holiday Meme

I don't usually do these, but this is for you Sherry.

Holiday Time Meme

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate?

Love Hot Chocolate, but I hate Egg Nog; it makes me gag.

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just set them under the tree?

Wraps them all.

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white?

I like colored lights on the house, but I think that white lights on the tree make the ornaments stand out more.

4. Do you hang mistletoe?

Oh yeah baby.

5. When do you put up your decorations?

As soon as my husband lets me. This year his Transiberian Orchestra ring-tone got him in the mood the week before Thanksgiving.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)?

My Grandma Hamilton always made the best Christmas ham. She cooked it until it was so tender it would fall apart. Then she topped it with brown sugar and cooked it some more.

7.Favorite Holiday memory as a child?

Going to see my dad's family in Idaho every other year.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?

A long time ago. He always used the same gift tags and wrapping paper as my parents.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?

Ever since I got married its hard to wait, but we try to save something for Christmas Day.

10. What kind of decorations are on your Christmas Tree?

Everything you can think of. I've gotten one ornament every year since I was born, and Jesse and I are continuing the tradition.

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it?

Love it, Love it, Love it!

12. Can you ice skate?

Yeah, but I don't like to.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift?

Actually the one I got from Jesse's mom this year. Every year for as long as I can remember my mom would put up the Nativity scene. She has always had the same one, and I would always watch her put it out. It was a special thing for me. This year Jesse's mom got me the Willow Tree Nativity scene. I can't wait to put it up every year with my kids.

14. What's the most important thing about the Holidays for you?

Spending time with family.

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert?

?. I don't think I have one.

16 What is your favorite holiday tradition?

Picking out a new ornament once a year.

17. What tops your tree?

A glowing frosted white star.

18. Which do you prefer giving or receiving?

Depends on what I'm giving or getting.

19. What is your favorite Christmas Song?

The Little Drummer Boy by Rebecca St. James

20. Candy Canes! Yuck or Yummy?

I don't mind them, but I'd rather have some ice cream.

I Don't Understand This

We completed a six week course in puppy obedience a few weeks ago and though we were excited about some of the results we were seeing I am still confused as to why so much of our stuff is ending up in the garbage.
I guess I was expecting a little too much from these classes. However, 5 shoes, 7 magazines, 3 hangers, a few pairs of underwear, my tree skirt, and a $45.00 red box DVD later I am a little disappointed.
Last weekend after he chewed up the DVD I went straight to Target and bought 2 baby gates. Now Abel is confined to our kitchen/laundry room for a few hours in the morning until Jesse comes home from work. This is working very well for us because we haven't lost anything to our canine garbage disposal ever since. That's our obedience class graduate!